Things Said
by Handy-for-the-bus
Summary: Things Anna and John say to each other at various moments of their lives.
1. In the middle of the night

_**A/N:** I was inspired to do this by a post I saw on Tumblr, and therefore these snippets into Anna and John's life will be primarily post there. I will try to do one per day, we'll see how that goes! I hope you all enjoy it :) _

_**Disclaimer:** Downton Abbey and its characters belong to Julian Fellowes. _

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_**1/? - things said in the middle of the night.**_

 _ **x**_

 _When John opened his eyes, she was still there, sleeping by his side. Their limbs tangled, her head over his pillow, their naked bodies warm together, making all of this feel so real. He sighed contentedly, admiring her features in the candle light. Her mussed hair spread on the sheets, her half opened lips and gentle breathing. He reached to caress her cheek, drawing a golden lock away from her skin, and when he did so, she looked at him._

' _Sorry...' he whispered. 'I just can't stop touching you.'_

' _Don't stop then,' Anna replied lazily, her eyes closed again, just enjoying the feeling of his gentle hand travelling along her neck._

' _I wish we could stay in our bedroom forever.' His lips followed his fingertips, kissing where he had just touched, making their way to the hollow of her throat. 'Make time stop, just the two of us, naked, under the sheets.'_

' _Wouldn't that be nice?' she said, moaning in pleasure as he reached the spot between her breasts, knowing exactly what he meant. She had those thoughts all the time, of them together with no one else around. Of them living in an endless honeymoon for the rest of their lives._

' _And still...' he continued, between kisses and nibbles. '...it wouldn't be enough. It will never be enough. The more I have you the more I want you...you've put a spell on me, Anna Bates, that I will gladly carry for the rest of my days.'_

 **x**


	2. Through the teeth

**_2/? - things said through the teeth_**

 ** _x_**

 _'Anna! What did you say?!' John asked her wide eyed, his look something between shock and confusion._

 _'It wasn't meant for you, it's just..see? I almost nailed my thumb to the wall.' she said, showing him her red, swollen thumb._

 _'Anna,' he grimaced at the sight. 'I told you I would do it. If just you give me a moment to finish my tea.'_

 _'You said that yesterday, John.'_

 _'I forgot.'_

 _Anna rolled her eyes, watching as he sat back again and continue to drink his tea. Without a second thought, she turned to the wall again, propped herself on tiptoes and placed the nail right where she had been hitting before. Sure enough, she began to hammer, and not a minute later…_

 _'Son of a -' this time, the words had came out plain and harsh, when before she had muttered them through her teeth._

 _'Anna!' he stood up at once, before she could finish her sentence, and walked to her with an amused smile on his face. 'Step aside, I'll do it before you nail yourself to the wall.'_

 _'It wasn't meant for you, I swear.'_

 _'Not literally, it wasn't.'_

 _They laughed, Anna's cheeks turning pink, and he hammered the picture to the wall in less than two minutes. After the frame was put in place, proudly displayed above the hearth, John took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing her sore thumb as gently as he could. To her delight she had never to ask him twice again._

 ** _x_**


	3. Too quietly

**_A/N:_** _Thank you all so much for your reviews, follows and faves! I'm glad you are enjoying these glimpses into John and Anna's life :D_ _Btw, some of these will be Modern :)_

 ** _Disclaimer:_** _Same as chapter 1-_ _2._

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 ** _3/? - things said too quietly_**

 ** _x_**

 _The candle was barely alive against the darkness of the room, and Anna tried her best to rest, but these past weeks had been difficult to get through. She had no comfortable position in bed, was constantly hot, her back ached and her feet were sore… she couldn't wait for this to be over now._

 _And that's when she heard it, ever so quietly, so gently, his voice, 'I promise I will try my best…mummy and I can't wait to have you here.'_

 _She didn't say a thing. She knew he thought she was asleep. His hand was soft against the skin of her swollen stomach and she could feel the emotion in every word, in every touch. Of course he would try his best, in fact, he was the best they could possibly have._

 ** _x_**


	4. Over the phone

**_4/? - things said over the phone (Modern)_**

 ** _x_**

 _'Are you alone?' Anna asked him over the phone, and the teasing tone on her voice told him exactly what she was up to.  
_

 _'Maybe…' John heard her giggle at his response and couldn't help but join, sitting back comfortably on his chair. The door of his office was locked, and most of the employers were out for lunch. He was probably the only one in the building, except for the Mrs Louis at the reception desk. 'Why do you ask?'_

 _'Oh…nothing special…' he heard her shift and the sound of fabric, and he assumed she was laying in bed as she talked to him. 'I just thought you should know I'm wearing that beautiful lingerie…and, that's it.'_

 _'Anna…that's unfair.' He bit his lower lip, his mind picturing the whole scene._

 _'Oh yes. It is most unfair, especially because I was thinking about last night and, well, I wish you were here.' She spoke slowly, seductively, her voice almost velvet, sending his memory back to the night before. His body began to respond in that moment, with a shiver and a racing heart. Thank God he was alone._

 _'I wish I was there too,' John replied, swallowing hard._

 _Anna fully knew the effect of her words over him and for that she wouldn't stop. Not until she had what she wanted._

 _She sighed deeply then, trying her best to sound as naive as she could. He heard her move again. 'To undress me slowly and make me feel so wonderfully good. As you always do.'_

 _John laughed softly and he heard her doing the same. 'I can do all that when I get home, if you promise you'll wait for me…wearing nothing but that lingerie.'_

 _'What if you came home now?' she suggested._

 _'Now, Anna?' Refusing such offer was almost painful. He took a deep breath just to be able to talk again. 'I can't. You know that.'_

 _'I will do that thing you love if you do. You know what I'm talking about, Mr Bates.'_

 _'Anna…' her words made him smile and he could almost see her, sitting in bed, looking at him with those bright blue eyes, pouting as she spoke and then giving him that delicious grin of hers. A grin promising nothing but passion and love. He only hoped she knew how much he adored her for that. 'You would do it anyway love it as much as I do.'_

 _'John?'_

 _'Hmm?'_

 _'You have ten minutes.'_

 _She hung up the phone before he could say another word, leaving him there without reaction. Did she really think he was going to leave work two hours early? Well…it wouldn't be the first time._

 _'Mrs Louis, I have to go home.' He ran out of the lift, stopping briefly at the reception desk. His hands were nervous as he placed some papers inside his briefcase, trying to avoid the old woman's eyes at all cost. 'My wife just called, she's not feeling well, I think it's a stomach flu or something.'_

 _'Ah no. Poor thing.'_

 _'Yeah, maybe we have to go to the hospital, don't know.' The list of lies was getting bigger and bigger. God if someone found out he would be dead. 'Can you tell the others why I'm gone?' he asked politely as he began to walk away, eager to be out of sight and therefore questioning._

 _'Of course, Mr Bates. I will let them know. I hope Mrs Bates feels better soon.'_

 _'Oh yes, I am sure she will,' he whispered to himself. Almost all of Anna's phone calls ended up in unproductive days… at least at work._

 ** _x_**

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 ** _Thank you for reading :)_**


	5. Not said

**_A/N:_** _Thank you all so much for your support! I'm so glad you are enjoying_ _these little moments. I love writing them :D_

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 ** _5/? - things not said_**

 ** _x_**

 _'It's not against the law to take a mistress, Mr Bates.'_

 _He wouldn't say it. Not now, not yet. It wasn't proper, it wasn't right. She was better than that. She was meant to be a be proud and respected by everyone. She was meant to be loved publicly, fully, completely and not in shadows and quick stolen moments._

 _She was meant to be a mother, and their children worthy of a name. He loved her more than body, more than flesh. He loved her soul, her spirit, her character. He loved her smile, her voice, her smell._

 _He wouldn't say it. Not now, not yet, but when the day they were married by law came, he would whisper his thoughts in her ear, and she would savour them until her last days._

 _'I want you, Anna. I want you more now more than I did yesterday, and I will want you more tomorrow than I do today. I want you more than anything. Forever._

 ** _x_**

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 _ **Thank you for reading :)**_


	6. Under the stars and in the grass

**_A/N:_** _Thank you all for your reviews_ _! They mean so much :D_

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 ** _6/? - things said under the stars and in the grass_**

 ** _x_**

 _He had caught her smiling up at stars. Her head resting on his arm, the smell of lavender, soap and grass invading his senses. It was like a dream, yes. A dream he had lived a thousand times. Day and night, through light and darkness._

 _'Why are you smiling?' he asked softly, not wanting to spoil this so tender and quiet moment._

 _'Why am I smiling? How could I not be! Being here with you, makes me so happy. So happy.'_

 _'I know, me too.' He kissed her temple, taking in her scent. If only time stopped now… 'We shall be together every night soon. Not under the stars but in our own bedroom.'_

 _'I don't care where we are, as long as we are together.'_

 _'Anna,' he turned on his side, propping himself up on his elbow to take a better look at her. She was beautiful in this light. The light of lovers and passionate nights. Her eyes shone against his, and her lips were begging for a kiss. He would oblige in just a moment, one, two, a million times. 'Nothing and no one will ever drive us apart again, I promise. I promise that, no matter what comes, what happens, I won't let anything get in between us. Ever.'_

 _And she believed in every word he said, and he would always make sure he would live up to it. A week ago he was still in prison, now he was here, with her, in the gardens of the Abbey under the stars, and he knew then that everything would always be possible for them. They were invincible like that._

 ** _x_**

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 ** _Thank you all for reading :)_**


	7. While we were driving

**_7/? - things said while we were driving. (Modern)_**

 ** _x_**

 _'I love long car drives, you know. I think it's one of my favourite things to do.' Anna told him softly, looking outside the window at the landscape passing before her eyes.  
_

 _'Oh yes?'_

 _'Yeah… it's relaxing. Liberating. It almost feels like there's nothing you can't achieve. You could go anywhere, everywhere. There's no limits.'_

 _'I feel like that whenever I'm with you.'_

 _They shared a loving glance while she ran her hand languidly along his thigh before asking. 'Where are we going? You haven't told me yet.'_

 _'As you said, my dear, there are no limits!'_

 _Their limit would come, eventually, when John stopped the car by the beach, hours later. In the distance there was a small cabin, facing the sea. He told her that was their destiny for the week. A place away from every other place else. Just the two of them and seagulls flying, and waves echoing at the shore._

 _That first weekend they spent together as husband and wife couldn't have be more perfect. That cabin would forever be a haven for the two._

 ** _x_**

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 ** _Thank you for reading :)_**


	8. When crying

**_A/N:_** _Thank you all for your reviews :D They make me so happy!_

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 ** _8/? - things said when crying_**

 ** _x_**

 _'Anna?'_

 _John heard her sobs in the middle of the night. The space between them in bed bigger than usual. She was curled up in her side, back at him, her pillow miles away from his._

 _'Whatever is the matter, love?' he dragged himself against her, one hand coming to her shaking shoulder, his lips tender on the back of her neck. 'Tell me what's wrong.'_

 _'I feel useless…' she stammered between soft cries. 'I can't give you what you want.'_

 _'You are what I want, Anna.'_

 _'But you always wanted children. You told me several times. Don't just say it to make me feel better, please. It makes me feel even worse.'_

 _'I'm not saying I don't want children or that I never did. Since the moment that I loved you I wanted to form a family with you.'_

 _She turned to face him, her eyes red in the dim light of the candle. He smiled, cleaning away the trail of tears from her cheeks, before continuing._

 _'But now that it's not happening, it's not the end of the world. I want you first and above all things. To me, you are more important than anything else.'_

 _'You are not disappointed?' She asked him, running a finger along his night shirt, trying her best to shake such horrible feelings away._

 _'Sad? Yes. Disappointed? No.' He lifted her chin with his thumb and was smiling again. She couldn't help doing the same. 'I couldn't be, not when I have you. Because I know that with or without children, we will be so very happy, the two of us. So deeply in love.'_

 _His fingers found their way to her hair after his reassuring speech, running through her locks into a relaxing state, and it didn't take Anna too long to buried her head in the warm crook of his neck and fall asleep._

 _In less than one year they would have a crying baby to keep them awake at night, and they wouldn't change it for the World._

 ** _x_**

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 ** _Thank you for reading :)_**


	9. After the first kiss

**_9/? - things said after the first kiss_**

 ** _x_**

 _'I love you, Anna.'_

 _His words had moved her so much more than she had expected, and maybe because she was not expecting them at all. There were tears in her eyes and her palms were sweaty, her eyes focused on his expression and her body warm with love._

 _It had been the reply to her own openness, and even though years went by since, it didn't matter. For her it was sweeter still, more meaningful, just like his kiss. Tender and loving, filled with longing and an undying desire for being together. And as he pulled her to him for another kiss she let herself melt into his embrace. For now, this was all she needed. Forever, this would be all she ever wanted._

 ** _x_**

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 ** _Thank you for reading :)_**


	10. at the kitchen table

**_A/N:_** _Thank you all for your reviews! I'm so glad you are enjoying these little moments. I love writing them! :D And I also want to thank my wonderful **Terriejane** because I can't live/write without her anymore, and that requires a lot of patience from her part xkissxkissx you the best! _

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**_10/? - things said at the kitchen table._**

 ** _x_**

 _'So?' She waited patiently for his answer, her eyes focused on his every movement. He chewed slowly at first, maybe just to add some suspense to the situation, and immediately she feared the worse.  
_

 _'John…' she insisted with a pout, his silence making her anxious. 'Tell me what you think! Is it that bad?'_

 _'That bad?' he swallowed the piece of fried chicken with great satisfaction, followed by a 'Mmm…That good! More, please!'_

 _His excitement made her laugh and she placed more on his plate. The potatoes tasted delicious, carrots and cabbage at the side. A dinner worthy of a Lord, even better than the chicken Mrs Patmore always cooked and bragged about._

 _'So, you approve?' Anna asked him at the end of the first dinner at their cottage. Their plates empty and tea brewing on the stove._

 _'You are the best cook in the world, my dear, if I can grade all your cooking skills on this dinner alone! I more than approve.'_

 _'I'm so glad. I was afraid I had forgotten how.'_

 _'You haven't.'_

 _John stood from his chair, rounding the table to where Anna was sitting. He leaned forward to her then, before whispering gently in her ear. 'I find wonderful things about you every day…problem is, soon enough I will be as fat as a pig and spoiled as a brat.'_

 _'That's what I'm here for, Mr Bates.'_

 _He was kissing her cheek the moment after, and she giggled as he did so. The kettle began to whistle but went unheard by the two. They had much better things to do, and to find out about each other._

 ** _x_**

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 ** _Thank you for reading :)_**


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